Garfield: "I rise to a question of order."
The President: "The gentleman from Ohio rises to a question
of order."
Mr. Garfield: "I challenge the correctness of the
announcement. The announcement contains votes for me.
No man has a right, without the consent of the person voted
for, to announce that person's name, and vote for him, in
this convention. Such consent I have not given."
The President: "The gentleman from Ohio is not stating
a question of order. He will resume his seat. No
person having received a majority of the votes cast, another
ballot will be taken. The Clerk will call the roll."
This verbatim report is absolutely correct, except that where
there is a period at the end of Mr. Garfield's last sentence
there should be a dash, indicating that the sentence was not
finished. I recollect the incident perfectly. I interrupted
him in the middle of his sentence. I was terribly afraid that
he would say something that would make his nomination impossible,
or his acceptance impossible, if it were made. I do not believe
it ever happened before that anybody who attempted to decline
the Presidency of the United States was to be prevented by
a point of order, or that such a thing will ever happen again.
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